BE LIKE A SPIDER, SPIN A WEB THAT HOLDS VISITORS
Focus your site development project by making basic decisions before hiring a professional. Match the designer to the intentions and complexity of the project. Is the site for presentation or profit? When it is finished, you want it to look great and be easy to navigate. Be sure and make it relevant to your target audience; not everybody or just anybody. A satisfied visitor is your target, and the key to a successful site.
A good, no, a great site, creates a dialogue between you and your visitors. If you stay focused on your intention, the main purpose for the site, everything else falls into place. So, what's your site strategy? Map it out. Seek a team that has the technical and creative know-how. Some knowledge of your business, industry or audience is a real plus. Will your site be a resource, provide a service, sell a product, educate people about you, your business, industry, new products, or history? Will you position the site as an authority on some aspect of your industry? Do you want an interactive site or simply brochure-ware to present basic information? Will there be registration for events, e-commerce with shopping carts, etc.? What payment process do you want? Why?
At $80 and more per hour for
design fees, no smart website
creator wants to waste a
designer's time.
Consider the visual elements you like--color, shapes, photographs, graphics, and art work. Do you want it to be visually busy, exciting, or understated and easy to take? Will it complement or copy your current image or corporate identity? Maybe you want to consider a mix of your established identity and a little innovation a complementary, not competing, image. Do your research and by the time you hire a Web designer you will know what you want.
Caveat: The important thing is to know what you want, but to also be open to suggestions from your design team. Remember, you are paying for professional expertise, so you certainly want to give serious consideration to what is suggested. If you decide to do-it-yourself, build into your budget a few hours of consultation, here and there, with an expert technical or creative advisor. If you hand everything off to a pro, your hard work and research will likely save you as much as 30 to 50 percent in money and much more in aggravation, no matter the size of your budget or website project. Get going, and Good Luck!
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Focus your site development project by making basic decisions before hiring a professional. Match the designer to the intentions and complexity of the project. Is the site for presentation or profit? When it is finished, you want it to look great and be easy to navigate. Be sure and make it relevant to your target audience; not everybody or just anybody. A satisfied visitor is your target, and the key to a successful site.
A good, no, a great site, creates a dialogue between you and your visitors. If you stay focused on your intention, the main purpose for the site, everything else falls into place. So, what's your site strategy? Map it out. Seek a team that has the technical and creative know-how. Some knowledge of your business, industry or audience is a real plus. Will your site be a resource, provide a service, sell a product, educate people about you, your business, industry, new products, or history? Will you position the site as an authority on some aspect of your industry? Do you want an interactive site or simply brochure-ware to present basic information? Will there be registration for events, e-commerce with shopping carts, etc.? What payment process do you want? Why?
At $80 and more per hour for
design fees, no smart website
creator wants to waste a
designer's time.
Consider the visual elements you like--color, shapes, photographs, graphics, and art work. Do you want it to be visually busy, exciting, or understated and easy to take? Will it complement or copy your current image or corporate identity? Maybe you want to consider a mix of your established identity and a little innovation a complementary, not competing, image. Do your research and by the time you hire a Web designer you will know what you want.
Caveat: The important thing is to know what you want, but to also be open to suggestions from your design team. Remember, you are paying for professional expertise, so you certainly want to give serious consideration to what is suggested. If you decide to do-it-yourself, build into your budget a few hours of consultation, here and there, with an expert technical or creative advisor. If you hand everything off to a pro, your hard work and research will likely save you as much as 30 to 50 percent in money and much more in aggravation, no matter the size of your budget or website project. Get going, and Good Luck!
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